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Senators Franken and Blumenthal and Representative Johnson Announce Legislation Giving Consumers More Power In Courts vs. Corporations
Congressman Johnson's office sent me the following announcement in response to the Supreme Court's ruling that limits the ability of consumers to bring class action suits in many situations, where consumer service contracts provide binding arbitration provisions.
Contact:
Ed Shelleby (Sen. Franken): 202-224-1868 | Kate Hansen (Sen.
Blumenthal): 202-224 2823 | Andy Phelan (Rep. Johnson): 404-593-9126
April 27, 2011
Sens. Franken, Blumenthal, Rep. Hank Johnson announce legislation giving consumers more power in courts vs. corporations
WASHINGTON,
D.C. — After consumers were dealt a blow today when the Supreme Court
ruled that companies can ban class action suits in contracts, U.S. Sens.
Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Rep. Hank
Johnson (D-Ga.) said today they plan to introduce legislation next week
that would restore consumers’ rights to seek justice in the courts.
Their
bill, called the Arbitration Fairness Act, would eliminate forced
arbitration clauses in employment, consumer, and civil rights cases, and
would allow consumers and workers to choose arbitration after a dispute
occurred.
Many businesses rely on mandatory and binding
pre-dispute arbitration agreements that force consumers and employees to
settle any dispute with a company providing products or services
without the benefit of legal recourse.
“This ruling is another
example of the Supreme Court favoring corporations over consumers,” said
Sen. Franken. “The Arbitration Fairness Act would help rectify the
Court’s most recent wrong by restoring consumer rights. Consumers play
an important role in holding corporations accountable, and this
legislation will ensure that consumers in Minnesota and nationwide can
continue to play this crucial role.”
“Powerful companies who take
advantage of ordinary consumers must be held accountable,” said Sen.
Blumenthal. “Today’s misguided Supreme Court ruling is a setback for
millions of Americans, denying injured consumers access to justice. The
Arbitration Fairness Act would reverse this decision and restore the
long-held rights of consumers to hold corporations accountable for their
misdeeds.”
“Forced arbitration agreements undermine our
indelible Constitutional right to trial by jury, benefiting powerful
businesses at the expense of American consumers and workers,” said Rep.
Johnson. “Americans with few choices in the marketplace may unknowingly
cede their rights when they enter contracts to buy a home or a cell
phone, place a loved one in a nursing home, or start a new job. We must
fight to defend our rights and re-empower consumers.”
In
Concepcion v. AT&T, consumers brought a claim against AT&T for
false advertising. However, because the value of their case was only
$30, their case was consolidated into a class action. AT&T sought to
block the lawsuit by pointing to the mandatory arbitration clause in
the service contract but lower courts applying state law rightly
invalidated the arbitration clause because it banned class actions
entirely.
In today’s 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court overturned
these lower court decisions which sought to protect consumers. The
majority of the Court held that the Federal Arbitration Act barred state
courts from protecting consumers from these arbitration clauses. The
effect of this decision essentially insulates companies from liability
when they defraud a large number of customers of a relatively small
amount of money.
A longtime advocate for consumers and workers in
cases of forced arbitration, in 2009 Sen. Franken passed legislation
with bipartisan support that restricts funding to defense contractors
who commit employees to mandatory binding arbitration in the case of
sexual assault and other civil rights violations. Congressman Johnson, a
longtime champion of workers and consumer rights, first introduced the
Arbitration Fairness Act in 2007.
- advertisements -
Wow. These five white guys (yes, I am including Clarence Thomas in that group) are telling the US people that corporations are more important than people, once again. They obviously have no idea of the pressure that is building, and clearly think they are untouchable. Just wow.
Since the stock market is just another casino, is there a stock where I can short Scalia?
In the wise words of Aldous Huxley, from Brave New World Revisited (a prophetic book, if you haven't read it), "However hard they try, men cannot create a social organism, they can only create an organization. In the process of trying to create an organism, they merely create a totalitarian despotism."
Fuck the Supreme Court. A more corrupt institution has never been seen.
No Justice in the US these days...
the ship is sinking... flee!
effing rats.
"A gov't big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have." Thomas Jefferson
I tried to farm and these bastards..oh wait.
?Another avenue to sue??
Think the lawyers will make money on these claims? naaah this this great for the consumer. power to the peo... ahh sheeple.
Keep deflecting attention away from the case to which this law responds:
CAPITALISM ROBS WITH IMPUNITY, and that's all good. Just don't let those getting fucked over organize as a class. Only the Capitalists can do that: it's called 'government'.
Give me a break. How many class action lawsuits accomplish anything substantive for plaintiffs? They're a leveraged, legal structured product designed to make a few lawyers rich.
You lost your IRA gambling on internet stocks? You poor victim. Let me tie up thousands of people's productive lives for a few years and maybe I'll get you 130 bucks.
I love how terms like consumer advocate are just assumed to be deeply associated with selfless sacrifice and the tireless quest for justice.
And Al Franken is a fucking ass-clown. Case closed.
You think corporations should be allowed to rob, rape, and pillage with impunity. In your view, there are no victims because Big Capital is infallible.
"Servile lackey of rapists": what a dignified position to hold. "Theft uber alles!"
This should be good for the Dow (but then again, what isn't?)
So theft is formally legalized (again) by our Supreme Court. Do I dare point out that the conservative position is to support states rights, to declare the Federal Arbitration Act void? We have no conservatives left in government, only crazy neo-cons and crazy neo-libs tag-teaming against ordinary Americans.
This should bring down unemployment rate for class action lawyers and judges.
Franken should sponsor a bill that limits litigation award allocation to lawyers.
Yep - it's the lawyers that are the problem with Capitalism. Sort of like garbage collectors and librarians.
They takeaway is that the Capitalists should NEVER be held accountable for raping, robbing, and pillaging. It's their god-given right to steal from working people wihtout any consequence at all.
Do you know the difference between a banker and an investment banker? An investment banker is either a banker to weak in spread mathematics to work in a bank, or a lawyer to weak in the law to argue cases in court. You'll never achieve your stated goal if you don't even know what the enemy looks like.
Many of the top banksters and top government lackies have law degrees.
Lawyers are one greedy bunch without contributing much to the wealth of the nation.
After the education bubble pops, lawyer bubble will be next as soon as BigLaw throws away the partnership model and goes IPO like the ibanks decade ago.
First rule of revolution, kill all the lawyers.
Shylock, Merchant of Venice, William Shakespeare
would someone please close the shade a little. i feel like we're being "observed" again.
class action = higher prices for consumers = lining the pockets of CA lawyers, who are the only winners
Franken understands that and where his campaign contributions come from
Lawyers/Law Firms $1,197,829http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/industries.php?cycle=2010&cid=N00...
Geo, do you favor the pitiful settlements that individuals in a class actually receive or are you in favor of enriching their counsel?
you = corporate shill
take the time to read the ruling, Geo is out to lunch on this one unless he (or you) are shills for the legal community
no one wins in a class action except for the lawyers
By stripping those raped by Big Capital of the right to organize into a class, we know who wins, don't we?
The people who butter your bread.
Michael Duke needs a shoe-shine: get to work, anonymous!
I agree we need class action reform. Notably, we need in-kind payment for lawyers--if the plaintiffs get cents-off coupons in the settlement, then the lawyers get cents-off coupons too. And we also need reform in shareholder lawsuits. It happens all the time that a frivolous suit wins a $15 check for the stockholder, while their holdings drop $1000 in value as the result of the suit.
But in THIS case at hand, the Supreme Court has simply legalized stealing. Next we'll simply see companies charging "So take me to arbitration if you don't like it bitchez" fees on every account.
Fuck the rat bastard corporate tools in Congress and on the SCOTUS.
Is that a rocket-docket in your pocket Mr bankster or are you just glad the benicide kept you 'alive' so you can screw everyone, all over again?
GW = ZH Democrat troll.
Freddie = bankster shill
So, all consumers = Democrats?
Grow up, Freddie.
Ah, who could ever forget Hank Johnson, almost a year ago to the day.......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNZczIgVXjg
Bankers have the Courts by thier balls. Nothing will change. You want to change something, start with Congress and remove the powers from the Banks period. See the domino fall. After all these years Congress has no balls just like the rest of the USA.
Proper piece of pamphleteering; end corporate personhood!
+1
as long as it remains pure, it reads nice. if riders get attached, look out!
i have never been a franken fan but this time he most definitely is doing the right thing....the fascist corporate owned supreme court is not a source of justice - merely a toady and mouth piece for corporate lies, bullying, and barbarity....
fuck the supreme court....
The supreme court has dictated you are already Fucked. You can give 2k something as a campaign contribution.
The corportations can give all they want. Nobody gets shit from me. Because it just don't matter. We are Japan now.
We are For and By the Corporations of Amerika. GE pays No Taxes, but gets paid for their contributions.
GE has to be the worst American Corporation right next to Halliburton.
yep, even a stopped clock is right twice a day :-)
Supreme Court to Americans who are not Banksters: "BLOW ME!"
I tend to agree with you. I've had judges treat me like shit in my county when I've brought more than legitament cases.
One judge even told me, I don't care about the law.
I complained to his oversight and no action taken.
The USA has definately beomce the UCA (United Corporations of America).
Yup. Years ago I brought a small claims case against one of my remodeling clients who still owed me about half the total billing. I presented all the invoices, my costs, witnesses who performed the work, materials, or did subcontracting. After all this the judge says, "Looks like you made enough off this job. Case dismissed." I guess the judge didn't get any the night before. There's something seriously wrong with all this and we're stuck with it.
lately everything SCOTUS gives to corporations is based on a free speech argument...its crazy...we banned advertising of liquor and cigarrettes to kids, but SCOTUS today would likely say that is cramping corps free speech...what inherent liberties does any corporation deserve, please, we should deal with them fairly and reasonably only as long as it is helpful to economy, consumer, invertors...but really, do we have to respect their right to lobby behind closed doors with infinite money, to sell doctors prescription information etc...we MAY want to give businesses some latitude and leeway so economy can thrive, people can get profits/incentives to build/innovate ...but for SCOTUS to say we never have a right to regulate them every, please.
In a society ruled by Big Capital, nothing forbidding Big Capital to rob, rape and pillage can be permitted.
Well done, now I wonder if it will get through Congress... Maybe if they put some tax cuts in there?
Pretty much the same congress that gave us the law, so..........not likely
the law the fascists upheld was from 1925 so, literally a different but very similar congress. so, yes.
nearly got herbert hoover for president too (far too nakedly ambitious for coolidge), though without the engineering expertise, problem solving abilities or the concern for the common people.
Could we get Tort Reform on the same bill?
Hell No. This bill sounds like an ear-mark for the trial lawyers association masquerading as "consumer protection".
The only effective way to protect consumers against small dollar thefts is through the regulatory agencies. Who can order the company to reduce the customer's bill by the full $30. In a class action the lawyers take a huge cut and create class registration barriers aimed at driving down the actual numbers of beneficiaries to as few as possible above the threshold for class action, so they can keep more of the money. How many people are going to spend several hours gathering documentation and filling out forms and several dollars of their own money to perhaps receive a check for less than $20 from a law firm three years down the road?
I hope so. We desperately need to figure out a way to allow those 95% of plaintiffs who are not killed or crippled for life their day in Court.
Almost completely useless if the same US judges are still there.
The only way to change the corrupt American judicial system, is if Congress started using their unlimited US Constitution power to remove from office, the judges (most or all of them) who are not in "good behaviour", with impeachment by the House, trial by the Senate ...
And that won't happen because the same US corporations and oligarchs who own the corrupt US judges, own the US Congress as well.
no the judges interpret the law, congress can make the law clear. i really dont give a shit cuz i want a revolution
You'd almost think it was designed to work this way by the slave-owning writers of the Constitution.
i'm trying to think if they had phones in those days. Hmmmm. Nope, nope. Don't recall telephones. They did have the mail however....
+1
who gives a shit about the legislation if a judge can interpret the shit out of it